New Delhi, February 26:

Housewives and institutions can reduce their electricity bills, thanks to solar water-heating products being offered by an asset financing firm. SREI Infrastructure Finance, a Kolkata-headquartered firm, is also offering funding for the products at low interests. Having entered the eastern and southern markets through door-to-door services two months ago, the firm is now all set to offer water-heating solutions in the northern and western regions of the country.

The non-banking finance company has entered into a tie-up with a consortium of manufacturers like Tata BP Solar India and Merloni Termo Sanitari India, an Italian major that markets Racold Eterno products, to offer cost advantage solar heating products. “We have joined hands for equipment supplies — photovoltaic heating system for rural electrification and water heating, and solar water heaters for urban areas. Since we have negotiated a large volume with a group of manufacturers, we are able to offer financing at two percent interest,” Siddharth Mukherjee, head of SREI Infrastructure Finance’s Renewable Energy Operations, said. Though the company has been active in infrastructure financing, particularly road projects, for the last two decades, it has only recently entered into financing of solar water-heating solutions and other renewable energy sources like wind turbines for power generation.

“While the government through the ministry of non-conventional energy sources is also providing low-cost financing and subsidy, we are providing a more compact service at the doorstep for solar water-heating. This is not just in hospitals, hotels and swimming pools but also in individual homes,” Mukherjee said. According to him, an average household can save up to Rs 500- Rs700 Indian Currency (IC) by using solar heating equipment.

The company has so far met with some success in helping finance wind farms of 50-80 MW generation capacity in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. It is also helping with the electrification of households in the Sundarbans area in West Bengal. “So far, electrification of about 28,000 houses has been done in Sundarbans. We have given a proposal for electrification of about 80,000 villages,” said Mukherjee.